1E9Ct5D

3.1. Conduct Considered as Absolute or Per Se Monopolistic PracticeThe LFCE establishes four illegal acts that are presumed to be absolute monopolistic practices.6 The first involves horizontal price fixing agreements between competitors, whichare extremely harmful to competition. Agreements such as these are considered to existfrom the simple fact of being carried out and, therefore, they are considered to beabsolute monopolistic practices, even when the presence of the economic agents in themarket is not substantial.It is considered that price fixing exists among competitors when the sale price offeredin Mexico by two or more competitors for goods and services that can be substituted forone another internationally is “perceptibly” higher or lower than their internationalprice, of course discounting taxes, transportation, or distribution charges.Another indication of price fixing is when two or more competitors establish the samemaximum or minimum price for a good or service, which is unlikely to be accidental, or aparticular sale or purchase price of the good is adhered to. This is indirect price fixing. Afinal sign of price fixing is when industry or commercial cartels fix prices for their members.Returning to the LFCE, we have indicated that in addition to price fixing, another threepractices are considered absolute monopolistic practices. 7 The first two practices are (i)establishing the obligation not to produce, process, distribute, or commercialize morethan a restricted or limited amount of goods or services, and (ii) the division and assignmentof markets. However, there is one more practice to which the LFCE tries to give specialemphasis due to the characteristics of the privatization process that the Mexicangovernment is going through. This is the practice of establishing, arranging, or coordinatingbids in public auctions.245Economic Competition3.2. Relative Monopolistic Practices (Rule of Reason)Together with the per se practices or absolute monopolistic practices to which we just__________6“Article 9. Absolute monopolistic practices are contracts, agreements, arrangements, or alliances amongcompetitive economic agents, whose aim or effect are any of the following: (i) to fix, raise, to agree upon,or to manipulate the purchase or sale price of the goods or services supplied or demanded in the markets,or to exchange information with the same aim or effect; (ii) to establish an obligation to produce, process,distribute, acquire, or market only a restricted or limited amount of goods, or to render or transact a specificvolume, number, or frequency of restricted or limited services; (iii) to divide, distribute, assign, orimpose portions or segments of the current or potential market of goods and services, according to specifiedor specifiable clientele, suppliers, time or spaces; or (iv) to establish, agree upon, or coordinate bids, orto abstain from bids, tenders, public auctions, or bidding. The acts mentioned in this article will not haveany legal effects and the economic agents engaged in such acts will be subject to the penalties establishedunder this law, notwithstanding any criminal liability that may ensue.”7See above note.